Blue Bay Travel's PTCs target 20% sales hike in 2026

The Personal Travel Consultants in partnership with Blue Bay Travel has outlined a target to increase sales by 20% next year by making dynamic packaging and exclusive product a key focus.

 

The homeworking group revealed the goal after announcing sales were up by 10% year on year despite challenging trading conditions at its fourth annual conference, held this year at the Coral Beach Hotel & Resort in Cyprus.

 

The conference also reported average booking values of its homeworkers were up 10% to £4,700, the highest they have ever been. 

 

Within the bookings mix, cruise sales rose by 25% on 2024 and Turkey outperformed the Maldives for the first time in the group’s sales, showing growing demand for short-haul holidays.

 

Sales of long-haul operator Blue Bay Travel have gone down by 10% year on year while short-haul sales have risen. Turkey was the most booked destination this year, with Greece and Spain also in the group’s top five.

 

Revealing an aim to smash this year’s sales by 20% in 2026, the group said it now hoped to drive growth through increased dynamic package sales and selling more Blue Bay Hotel exclusive products.

 

To support this, the group will offer more incentives to its agents to reward performance and planned another VIP top sellers trip, this time to a “mystery” destination.

 

This follows a boost in sales as a result of the first top sellers trip to Antigua, a Lapland trip and a Greece fam trip with Travelpack.

 

Abbie Heaton, group manager for The PTCs, said sales values were increasing thanks to clients choosing longer duration stays.

 

She said: “While overall consumer appetite and the volume of annual holidays have shifted, sales have remained steady.

 

“This reflects a clear trend: travellers are enhancing the value of their trips by choosing longer stays, multi-generational holidays, and higher-quality experiences, as shown in the PTCs’ figures.

 

“The conference bonded the team and set the tone for our 2026 strategy of driving sales growth in the year ahead."

 

The PTCs’ share of overall group sales has also gone up by 5% year on year and now accounts for almost half of Blue Bay’s group sales. More than 75% of homeworkers have increased their sales year on year.

 

“They are delivering more, which is exactly what we want, and the value of bookings has gone up because people are staying longer so there is more value per sale,” said Heaton.

 

On cruise, she added: “Our cruise business has really grown in the last two years since we focused on it. Even a year ago a lot of them were still scared of selling cruise because they found it overwhelming. The average cruise booking now is £4K.”

 

She said the group had reduced recruitment for new agents as a result of its success.

 

“There is room for organic growth but we don’t need to actively recruit. Our average sales per homeworker is about half a million pounds per year so we don’t need to grow to maintain business,” she said.

 

Sales through self-generated sales leads for homeworkers now account for 70% of bookings, which the group expects to reach 80% by the end of this year. Self-generated leads earn agents 65% commission.

 

Heaton added: “We’re thrilled with how the business has performed over the last few years, and that’s in no small part down to the hard work and dedication of our growing team of PTCs.”

 

During the four-day conference, attended by 28 of the group’s 45 homeworkers, agents also visited Yianna Taverna and Tsangarides winery, sponsored by Visit Cyrpus, and enjoyed a keynote presentation from Blue Bay Travel chief executive Alistair Rowland, and speed dating with suppliers.

 

Suppliers included Coral Beach Hotel & Resort, Travelpack, Star Clippers, Explore, Jet2, Bookabed, Sandals, Attractions World and tbc.com.